Deadman's Track by Sarah Barrie

Author:Sarah Barrie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Published: 2020-06-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

25

Tess was torn between making absolutely sure the group was prepared and not wanting to keep Jared waiting forever. They had to have been almost an hour already. She glanced back and saw him talking on the phone. He looked serious. Whatever he was saying, it wasn’t an easy conversation. Or was he just getting sick of waiting?

‘So that’s about it. Oh—there was another couple I believe may have booked in to go too. I’ll have to check on that.’

‘Yeah, we know. That’s fine,’ Riley said. ‘Tess, we really appreciate it. Thanks.’

‘The wilderness out there will rival anything you’ll experience anywhere in the world. It’s truly magical, stunningly beautiful, and I really want you to have an unforgettable experience. You’d just have a better chance of that in the warmer months, that’s all.’

‘Tess,’ Jared said, entering the office, ‘sorry but something’s come up. We need to go.’

‘No problem, we’re done. I’ll be in touch regarding gear hire, Riley.’

They walked to the front of the shop, the rest of the group following. The window shattered and glass rained down. Before either of them could even fully take that in, gunshots cracked.

‘Get down!’ Jared’s voice, his body over hers as he tackled her.

From her position on the floor under Jared, Tess saw three men in balaclavas with guns coming into the shop. Beyond the shattered window, a car slowed, the driver staring. Another car pulled over sharply, the driver already on the phone.

‘You need to get everyone back in the office, understand?’ Jared ordered.

Tess nodded and rolled out from under him. To her right, Jasmin and Brock were huddled together behind a set of shelves. She gestured for them to go to the office, where Chris and Alex were peeking around the door, then another crack had her ducking behind the shelter of a display cabinet.

‘You bastard!’ one of the masked men growled, and dragged Tank by the scruff of his neck out from behind the counter. He pushed him to his knees and pointed what looked like a sawn-off shotgun at his head.

‘Dad!’ Riley raced past Tess towards the gunmen. Tess lunged and dragged her back. She saw a gun aimed in her direction, then a gunshot hit the wall somewhere behind their heads.

‘No! Dad!’ Riley screamed.

The man who’d shot at them pointed the gun again. His eyes landed on Tess’s. Time seemed to slow as she grabbed at Riley, hoping she might have dragged her further back, but all the room in her mind was taken up with one thought: He’s going to shoot me. She knew she had to think, to do something. But she couldn’t.

Jared stepped into the gunman’s line of sight with his hands raised, blocking them from harm. ‘Take it easy, mate. Don’t do anything stupid. Why don’t you put the gun down, tell us what you want?’

‘Shut up!’

‘No one’s been hurt, you can still get out of this. The cops are on their way so—’

‘I said shut up!’ The gunman looked over his shoulder at the sound of more glass shattering.

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